BBC journalist who revealed identity of rape victim during live broadcast was covering his first trial, court hears

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BBC Asian Network reporter Rickin Majithia, who revealed the identity of a rape victim during a broadcast. District Judge Naomi Redhouse said to him today: "This is not a trial in which you've been charged with anything"Credit:
BBC

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A BBC journalist who revealed the identity of a rape victim was covering his first trial and had never set foot inside a crown court before the day of his live broadcast, a court heard.

BBC Asian Network reporter Rickin Majithia revealed the real name of the complainant in a rape trial during a live report of a case involving the Rotherham grooming scandal in February 2018.

His line manager, BBC Asian Network's head of news Arif Ansari, has now gone on trial accused of breaching the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 which entitles all complainants of sexual offences to lifelong anonymity.

Prosecutor Neil Usher told the Sheffield Magistrates' Court how Mr Majithia made the mistake as he wrongly believed the name he used was a pseudonym.

Giving evidence, Mr Majithia said he had not covered a trial before and had not even sat in a crown court case.

The reporter told the court he found out about the mistake 10 minutes after the name was read out when a social worker called him.

He drafted a letter of apology to the victim, but Mr Majithia told the court he was blocked from sending it by his superiors.

Although he had been at the BBC for nine years, he had only been a reporter for 12 months. Mr Majithia said the mistake would be something he will regret for the "rest of his life".

As his line manager, part of Ansari's role as the producer was to check the script used by his reporter ahead of the live report on February 6.

BBC Asian Network's head of news Arif Ansari, who is on trial accused of breaching the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 which entitles all complainants of sexual offences to lifelong anonymity. He denies the breachCredit:
Ben Lack

The named victim was listening to the report as it went out live, and said she felt sick after hearing her name.

In a statement read to the court, she said: "I immediately panicked but carried on listening." She added: "I cannot believe this has happened to me."

The woman said it had been hard enough to give evidence at the Sheffield Crown Court trial and added: "To then have my name given out as a victim of rape on a BBC radio station was unbelievable."

She said it has made her "feel sick". The woman said in her statement: "At this point I went into full meltdown - panicking and crying - and I didn't hear anything else that was said."

The statement was read at the beginning of the trial of Ansari, 43, of BBC Portland Place, London, who denies breaching the act.

Mr Majithia told the court he found out about his mistake about 10 minutes after the broadcast when he had a call from Jayne Senior, a community worker in Rotherham.

He said: "I was horrified and I am horrified. I'm deeply, deeply sorry to the victim and her family. It's something I will regret until the day I die."

The reporter agreed that he drafted an email to the woman apologising for the "genuine mistake" but it was not sent due to advice from his superiors.

In the email he said: "I had a number of different things going on in my head that afternoon and I made a human error. It was a moment of confusion I will regret forever."

He told the court he had been suffering from stress at work which he said Ansari was aware of.

Mr Majithia told the court how he had begun to report the case on the second day of the trial after travelling up from London the night before.

The case involved a taxi driver who raped the woman when she was a teenager in Rotherham.

Mr Majithia explained how the woman gave evidence in court from behind a screen and he wrongly assumed that when her forename was used in court it was a pseudonym.

The reporter said that he had a number of previous dealings with the woman as he investigated the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal and had become confused, thinking that the name he had always called her was her real one, when it was not.

Mr Majithia said that he returned to London very upset and met Ansari in a pub near their office that night.

The reporter said he had been at the BBC for nine years but only been a reporter for a year.

After he finished giving evidence, District Judge Naomi Redhouse said to him: "This is not a trial in which you've been charged with anything. I hope you understand that."

She told Mr Burke that Mr Majithia was a "diligent journalist who's made a mistake". Judge Redhouse also asked that Mr Majithia's emailed apology should be read to the complainant.